


You Matter.

by Princex_N



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: ? - Freeform, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Depressed Character, Depression, Executive Dysfunction, Fainting, Gen, Light Angst, Lucretia is the mom friend and she owns it, Team as Family, good vibes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2016-11-10
Packaged: 2018-08-30 06:57:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8523067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princex_N/pseuds/Princex_N
Summary: Johan has been having a rough couple of days.





	

Johan has been having a rough couple of days. 

It's not that he's been busy. It's more like he  _should_ be busy, but he can't be. 

Instead, he's been laying around the Voidfish's chamber and thinking about all the things he should be doing while not doing any of them.

Which does nothing for anybody and Johan knows it and he hates every second of it.

He should clean up the trash that's accumulated in the room with him, he should probably shower, his own room is something that should be cleaned (there are dishes in there from last week that are starting to smell), he should practice at least one instrument, or compose something for the Voidfish, or do literally anything other than sitting here, doing nothing.

He can't even say for certain how long he's been here. No one has come by in a while because they're all busy doing their jobs, like Johan isn't doing, but should be. 

The Voidfish lets out a low hum. It's been a lot more vocal since that whole scene with Magnus. Johan likes it, most of the time, but right now it just makes him feel kind of guilty. He can't remember when the last time he fed the Voidfish even was. 

He knows that he has some loose compositions around here somewhere. Ones that he'd started but never finished. They're not much, but hopefully they'll be enough until Johan's hands stop feeling so heavy and he can write some more. 

He staggers to his feet unsteadily, using the tank behind him to help himself up ("clean the glass" gets added onto his ever growing task list) and as he makes for his desk, he's hit abruptly with a wave of dizziness that makes his knees buckle and the corners of his vision go dark. 

If he had suspected that he was a fuck up before, he knows that he is now. He can't remember the last time he ate or drank anything. Stupid. 

He scrambles for his chair, to try and sit and breathe and hopefully ride out this dizziness, but he misses. His hand slips off the wood, sending him and the chair tumbling to the ground, colliding painfully with the tiles.

He hears a thud behind him before everything fades out into a tingling numbness. 

-

Lucretia is making her daily rounds when the melodious scream of the Voidfish jolts her out of her thoughts.

She's moving before she's really aware of it. She doesn't know what's going on, but whatever it is can't be good. 

She reaches the door to the chamber at the same time Angus McDonald does, his little wand at the ready. The two of them share a look before going inside, Lucretia in front, just in case.

At first, she doesn't see anything out of place, except for the clearly distressed Voidfish ramming itself against the glass of the tank. Then Angus pushes past her, crying out "Johan!" as he runs over towards the crumpled form of the bard next to an overturned chair, and her stomach drops.

Angus sits next to him, his hands flapping anxiously as he looks him over and struggles to think of what to do. Lucretia takes a deep breath, and then heads over and very carefully turns the unconscious bard over. 

He looks washed out and pale, breathing unsteadily, and when she checks his pulse, it's fluttery. As she checks him over, however, his eyes begin to open, and she has a feeling that she knows what happened. 

"Angus," she says, projecting calm despite the fact that she's still quite a bit worried. "Can you do me a favor? Can you go to the dining hall and get some water, and food? Please." 

He looks anxious and reluctant to leave, but the task is something helpful to do, and so he nods and scrambles to his feet, humming tunelessly under his breath as he leaves. 

"Shit," Johan mumbles as soon as the door closes, clumsily pawing at his face, and Lucretia chuckles humorlessly. 

"'Shit' indeed," she says. "Johan, how long have you been in here?" 

She works to keep her tone as non-judgmental as possible, but he still looks guilty. "A while," he tells her. 

She sighs a little, "We talked about this last time," she says, and Johan scowls. 

"I know," he mutters mulishly, sitting up cautiously. He slumps and looks at her from under his unwashed bangs, "It's not like I meant to or anything." 

"I know," she amends, she's not trying to sound accusatory, or blame him for anything. "I know, but if you're having trouble doing things, you can ask for help." 

He shrugs listlessly, looking down and muttering something under his breath that Lucretia can barely catch. "Didn't want to be a burden." 

The corners of her mouth pull down, and she leans over to put her hands firmly on his shoulders, and bends down slightly to look him in the face. He breaks eye contact almost immediately, but that's not what she's after. 

"You are not a burden." She tells him firmly, "You are an important part of this organization. And," she cuts him off before he can speak, "even if you didn't have a job, you have a place here, and you matter to us. If you need help, you deserve to ask for it, regardless of what you're able, or not able, to do in return. Okay?" 

It takes him a while, but eventually he nods, and she sits back. A moment later, Angus runs in, his arms full, and nearly trips over the threshold before regaining his balance and hurrying over. 

"Are you okay, sir?" He asks, carefully lining up what he's brought in front of Johan and looking him over anxiously. 

"Fine," Johan replies simply, "Sorry for scaring you." He looks at Angus, at Lucretia, and then behind her at the Voidfish. "Sorry," he repeats. 

The Voidfish trills out a four note song, and Johan nods, "Yes." He says, "Sorry." 

Lucretia still finds herself amazed at the bond that the two of them share, as she restrains the urge to ruffle Johan's hair because his hair will be greasy and he won't appreciate it. But she stays to make sure that he drinks the water and eats some food, to make sure that he's okay, and as they listen to Angus chatter away, she makes a mental note to check on Johan more often. 

She might not admit it in so many words, but she has been watching over him and the other members of the bureau for a long time, and her feelings towards the people under her care are decidedly maternal. If someone needs help, it's her job to help them, and if someone needs more help, then she makes sure to compensate. 

After all, there's a reason there's been more than a few slip ups of people calling her "mom". 

**Author's Note:**

> food and water is important. make sure that you take care of yourselves!!  
> [my tumblr](http://www.princex-n.tumblr.com)


End file.
